OAKLAND COLISEUM
Address:
7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA 94621
Phone:
(510) 569-2121
Neighborhood:
Elmhurst
Open:
For A's games, Raider's games, other events.
History
Ground was broken for the Oakland Coliseum on May 15, 1964. It was built on a large parcel of vacant land, near the Nimitz Freeway (today's I-880) that was owned by the Port of Oakland and others. The stadium's design was unusual at the time. The playing field is 29 feet below the surrounding ground, so that people wouldn't have to go up so many stairs to get to most of the seats. To build the two buildings, huge holes were dug deep into the ground.
During the digging in August 1964, a pair of mammoth tusks and a tooth were found 28 feet below ground level. (Oakland Tribune, 8/15/64: "Heavy construction equipment yesterday unearthed the remnants in the blue clay which was once the bed of a stream, or of the stream's flood plain.")
First Games and Teams
The stadium opened for its first event on Sept. 18, 1966, when the Kansas City Chiefs beat a brand new team, the Oakland Raiders, by 32 to 10. The California Seals (Hockey) played the first game in the Arena on Nov. 9, 1966. For the 1967 baseball season, owner Charles Finley moved the Kansas City Athletics (once the Philadelphia Athletics) to the Coliseum, and they became the Oakland A's.
Auto Racing?
Many different sports have been played or are played at the Coliseum and Arena, including football, baseball, hockey, soccer and basketball. At one time, before construction began, it was proposed to have auto racing as well! The plan was to lay out a race course in the parking lot around the buildings.
From the Oakland Tribune, April 15, 1962
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